Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 18/981,722

SMART RING

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Dec 16, 2024
Priority
Sep 16, 2020 — continuation of 11/502,713 +3 more
Examiner
TRAN, TUAN A
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Genki Instruments Ehf
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
671 granted / 788 resolved
+25.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+7.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
802
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.1%
-34.9% vs TC avg
§103
45.6%
+5.6% vs TC avg
§102
27.7%
-12.3% vs TC avg
§112
6.5%
-33.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 788 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1-12 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barnett (2019/0028134). Regarding claims 1-4, 9 and 11, Barnett discloses a wearable device (i.e. a necklace, a band or a ring) (See fig. 2 and par [0053]) comprising: a pressure sensor disposed on an inner surface of a body portion of the wearable device (See figs. 2, 4B and par [0080]); at least one biometric sensor 285 disposed within an inner surface of a body portion of the wearable device (See figs. 2, 4B and par [0080]); a circuitry 220 to allow communication with a memory, wherein the circuitry is configured for wireless personal area network technology such as Bluetooth (See figs. 2, 4B and par [0068, 0079]); the memory configured to store information from a user; a processor, and a computer-readable medium that stores computer-readable program code executable by the processor (See figs. 2, 7 and par [0107-0110]); and motion sensors including accelerator and gyroscope (See fig. 2). However, Barnett does not explicitly mention that the at least one biometric sensor is configured to sense/detect blood pressure, oxygen saturation level, a pulse, a quantity of calories burned, and a heartbeat pattern (i.e. of a user during performance of an action such as walking), and the motion sensors are configured to sense/detect orientation (i.e. rotation or twist) of the wearable device including angular rate of a body. Since, Official Notice taken by the examiner, biometric sensor configured to sense/detect real time blood pressure, oxygen saturation level, a pulse, a quantity of calories burned, and a heartbeat pattern (i.e. of a user during performance of an action such as walking) and motion sensors, such as multi axis accelerator and/or gyroscope, configured to sense/detect orientation including angular rate of a body are commonly known in the art; therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to utilize such sensors for the device of Barnett, for the advantage of expanding the applications of device to various types of monitoring. Regarding claim 5, Barnett discloses as cited in claim 1. However, Barnett does not explicitly mention that the pressure sensor is a piezoelectric sensor. Since, Official Notice taken by the examiner, the pressure sensor is a piezoelectric sensor is commonly known in the art; therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to utilize piezoelectric sensor as pressure sensor, for the advantage of expanding the capability of the device to various types of pressure sensors. Regarding claims 6-8, Barnett discloses as cited in claim 1. Barnett further discloses the wearable device (i.e. a ring) comprises: a battery, a light-emitting diode (LED) display, and a charging port for charging the wearable device (See figs. 2, 4B and par [0067, 0081]). Regarding claim 10, Barnett discloses as cited in claim 6. However, Barnett does not explicitly mention that the charging port comprises a USB port or a micro-USB port. Since, Official Notice taken by the examiner, the charging port comprising a USB port or a micro-USB port is commonly known in the art; therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to utilize a USB port or a micro-USB port for the device of Barnett, for the advantage of expanding the capability of device to various types of charging ports. Regarding claim 12, Barnett discloses as cited in claim 1. Barnett further discloses the wearable device further comprises an antenna (See figs. 2, 4B and par [0079]). Regarding claim 15, Barnett discloses as cited in claim 3. Barnett further discloses the wearable device is configured to be worn on an index finger of a user (i.e. finger ring) (See par [0053]). Claims 13-14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barnett (2019/0028134) as applied to claims 11-12 above, and further in view of von Badinski (12,429,908). Regarding claims 13-14, Barnett discloses as cited in claim 12. However, Barnett does not explicitly mention that the wearable device comprises a printed circuit board, wherein the antenna is in the printed circuit board. Since von Badinski suggests a similar wearable device comprising a printed circuit board, wherein the antenna is in the printed circuit board (See figs. 1A-1C, 2, 3A-3C, 4-5 and col. 15 line 64 to col. 16 line 10); therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to modify, as suggested by von Badinski, the device of Barnett with a FPC board (with antenna), for the advantage of reducing the cost of manufacturing different sizes of printed circuits. Regarding claim 16, Barnett discloses as cited in claim 11. However, Barnett does not explicitly mention the circuitry is configured to send information related to the biometric feature of the user to a smartphone or other computing device. Since von Badinski suggests a similar wearable device, wherein the circuitry of the wearable device is configured to send information related to the biometric feature of the user to a smartphone or other computing device (See figs. 10-11and col. 15 lines 27-41); therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to modify, as suggested by von Badinski, the device of Barnett with such feature, for the advantage of expanding the capability of the device by allowing a user to monitor the results or readings from the health and fitness tracking performed by the wearable device. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 for a listing of cited prior arts of record. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUAN A TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7858. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wesley Kim can be reached at (571) 272-7867. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /TUAN A TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 16, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+7.7%)
2y 6m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 788 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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